


Start Over

by bombalurinas



Category: Clone High
Genre: F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Go Easy On Me, Hurt/Comfort, i have no Beta, this is bad but this is my first time writing a fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:47:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26295121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bombalurinas/pseuds/bombalurinas
Summary: So when Abe went over to her locker to attempt to flirt with her, Joan pretended to be interested, but it all felt so wrong to her. Something Joan wasn’t expecting, though, was to hear JFK’s voice down the hall. She looked in his direction when she first heard the yelling and she definitely didn’t expect anything that happened next.
Relationships: Joan of Arc/JFK (Clone High)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 408





	Start Over

**Author's Note:**

> Please be easy on me I'm not good at this..

Joan had been “dating” JFK for a while now, she was able to convince him into pretending to date her with fairly simple conditions, very fast. He didn’t seem to have any gripes with it, and he was fairly good at pretending to be her boyfriend, she thought. Too good, actually, since Joan knew, deep down, she was actually starting to like her annoying stupid and confident classmate. He was a very sweet guy, she started to realize. Constantly getting her things and doing almost anything just to make her smile.

She sometimes wondered if she even still liked Abe, who this originally was for. She wanted to make Abe jealous but now her mind never even drifted to the thought of him, it was always JFK now, and her head felt cloudy consistently. JFK’s pretending felt more affectionate now that Joan thought of it. More lingering, but she wondered if she only noticed it because she was starting to like him. She also started noticing Abe trying to get closer and closer to her.

Abe and Joan were friends, so talking wasn’t so strange, but he seemed completely different lately. His comments were getting more romantic, and less friendly. Joan thought she should’ve been happy now that her plan was working.. but she wasn’t. She was realizing how much she didn’t like Abe anymore. It felt weird to even imagine him in a romantic way anymore. Joan’s stubbornness was clear, though, she didn’t want to admit her plans were crumbling around her.

So when Abe went over to her locker to attempt to flirt with her, Joan pretended to be interested, but it all felt so wrong to her. Something Joan wasn’t expecting, though, was to hear JFK’s voice down the hall. She looked in his direction when she first heard the yelling and she definitely didn’t expect anything that happened next.

“Lincoln! Get your hands off my girl!” JFK yelled from down the hallway as he seemed to stomp over. Joan was about to say something until Abe responded to him. “I wasn’t even doing anything!” Abe said, and Joan knew that was a lie, but, this time, she didn’t say a thing. Or even try to. They seemed to argue back and forth about the issue before JFK threw a punch, and that’s when Joan jumped away from the action. Maybe a small part inside her warmed up to the fact JFK started a fight over her, but her pride over her entire plan made her feel angry over the situation.

She watched the boys duke it out for a while, wanting to at least be there by the end. When it was over Joan pulled JFK off to the side before he was dragged off to Scudworth’s office. “What did you do? You know we aren’t actually together, right?” Joan said, anger boiling up in her voice. JFK looked upset after she said that, and she was confused by it. “Sorry, Joan. I think I’m getting too caught up in my own feelings.” he said, with a genuine tone to his voice.

“Feelings?” Joan felt her voice soften at the realization of what he could be talking about. JFK looked back at her, and she could only focus on the new injuries on her.. Fake boyfriend’s face. “I thought-” Joan started before JFK interrupted her. “We pretended to date, and I forgot it was pretend, see, Joan, I really do like you. You’re a real rockin’ girl, and Abe would be lucky to have you.” he said and Joan could feel her eyes threatening to tear up. “Jack-” she said before he went to interrupt her again: “I need to go.”

She watched as one of the teachers went and escorted JFK to Scudworth’s office. She thought about what he said and she soon made her way to Abe in the nurse’s office. Knowing he had to be there, if JFK won then there was no way he could be anywhere else, she figured. When she saw Abe the nurse had already gone to her computer to file him into the system, and Joan made her way over to sit next to him as he laid on one of the three uncomfortable beds in the room. 

“I’m sorry, Abe.” Joan said and looked over at her injured friend. “Don’t be, Joan, I was stepping over a boundary, you and JFK are dating.” Abe responded with a chuckle and Joan rolled her eyes before furrowing her eyebrows suddenly. “So you were flirting with me?” Sure, Joan had a suspicion he was, but now it was true, and right in front of her, and she didn’t care. She wasn’t excited or upset, and she knew she would have to stop pretending at some point. Pretending she liked Abe.

“Of course I was Joan, ever since you got with that idiot I.. have been feeling so angry about seeing you both together.” Abe admitted to Joan, she sighed after hearing it and looked back at him with a nervous expression. “Abe, it’s complicated.” Joan said and Abe looked back at her with concern on his face. “Joan, we’re still friends, and I am determined to listen to you, even if it’s a cold hard rejection.” Abe said, and smiled when Joan started to laugh at his comment.

“I.. I did like you, and when I started dating JFK it was more to.. Make you upset, but now. I don’t know, I don’t feel anything here anymore.” Joan admitted as she looked down at her lap, feeling bad for saying it out loud, especially to a good friend. “You like him, Joan.” Abe responded and Joan picked up her head to look back at Abe. Sure, she knew she did, deep down, but hearing it from Abe felt different, felt more like a reality check.

She was surprised he was telling her this in the first place, due to the fact he was injured in the nurse’s office because of JFK. “I know.” Joan whispered and she felt herself start to tear up, she looked up exaggeratedly to somehow stop the tears from falling out of her eyes. Abe opened his arms for his friend and Joan took his offer to start to hug him, and she could feel herself start to cry now that she felt safer. She was happy Abe was still.. Being her friend, even now. 

She would’ve understood if he wasn’t, but he seemed determined to make her happy instead.

“I can drop you off at his house after school.” Abe said and Joan rolled her eyes. “I’m fine, Abe, I can walk.” she objected. “Well, if he tells you to get out of his face, I’d rather you get driven back home.” Abe responded and she laughed once again and moved back from his hug. “Fine, Abe.. Thank you.” she paused and looked back at her friend. “Thank you for being such a good friend still.. And still driving me to his house, even after he beat you up.” she laughed and Abe did alongside her. “I had it coming.” Abe said.

For the rest of the day Joan thought about what would happen at the end of school. It was hard to focus in her classes when all she wanted to do was apologize to JFK, and hear his stupid ‘er’s and ‘uh’s as he spoke to her. Even if it was him telling her to leave, she would understand it- he didn’t have to go through with the deal, especially since he did like her. She just hoped he’d hear her out.

When the end of the day did roll around, Joan went out of the school to see Abe standing in front of his car, talking with Cleo, seeming to say his goodbyes with her by the time Joan had gotten over. Her eyes trained on her leaving until she disappeared in the crowd of other students, soon looking over at Abe. “Let’s hope this goes well, because if it doesn’t you have to buy me ice cream.” Joan joked and smiled at Abe as she got into the car.

The ride there was silent in terms of them speaking to each other, but not in terms of them singing along to all the music that played on the radio. About three songs played by the time they were finally parked in front of JFK’s house, and Joan could only nervously exit the car and stumble her way to the door of his house. She didn’t know why she was so nervous, it wasn’t like he was mad at her- but she hoped he would be okay with talking about it now, she wanted to get her feelings out now.

When she knocked, JFK didn’t answer, one of his foster dads did. The nicer one, she noted. He let her inside and told her JFK was in his room, and he was suspended for a week for the fight he had started. She stepped carefully upstairs and knocked on his door and moved her hand to rest on the wall next to the door, looking down at her feet as she waited for him to answer and open the door.

“Dad, what do you-” when he opened the door and saw Joan, JFK looked pleasantly surprised. “Joan?” He said, looking down at the shorter girl in front of him. Joan looked up at JFK and stood up straight, coughing into her hand to clear her throat as she collected her thoughts quickly. It was hard to focus, especially when his eyes looked as sad as they did.. What was he expecting? She wondered.

“Can we talk?” Joan asked and she saw JFK nod, open his door wider and offer to let her inside. She muttered a quick ‘thank you’ before ducking under his outstretched arm and going to sit on his bed. Her eyes wandered to the mirror above it while he went to sit next to her. She’d been in his room many times, but a lot of the decor in it always baffled her. Like the entire bar he had.

She soon tore her thoughts away from the idiotic decor of the room and soon focused on JFK, thinking about what to say. When she went to speak, he did too, and their words became jumbled as they blurted their comment out at the same time. Joan felt her face heat up with embarrassment at it. “You can go first.” Joan said, her eyes wandered to his, and she could feel a bit of sadness pool in her chest at the bruise directly on his eye. 

JFK, after processing what Joan said, went to say what he meant to say before. “So. is this our breakup?” He joked, in typical Kennedy fashion, and started laughing sadly afterwards. Joan shook her head before going into what she was going to say directly after. “John, I like you.” Joan said, her voice cracking in between her words. JFK had a quick ‘huh?’ directly after as he looked at her, very confused. She’d have to explain.. Great.

“Fitzy-” she was so used to calling him nicknames, she realized. “-Like you said.. You started to like me during this- deal, and I.. I guess I started to also- like you, as this fake dating thing went on, I noticed how much I was only doing it anymore just to spend time with you.” She said and looked down at her lap for a moment before looking back at JFK. He was completely silent. He seemed to look at her blankly.

“Uh- earth to JFK..?” She said as she went to playfully slap him lightly on the side of the bed, only for him to grab her hand instead. Joan could feel her face heat up almost immediately when he did. “You like me?” JFK said as he looked back at her, and she watched his eyes get more and more teary. “Yes.. I- I think I do.” Joan responded and she laughed as she saw JFK start to smile back at her.

She soon felt arms wrap around her and she realized JFK was hugging her, she felt herself smiling uncontrollably over it as she held him close to her, now that she was able to. They had held each other in the past.. They had done many things real couples did in the past, often passing it off as fake dating- well- Joan did. She liked to pretend there wasn’t anything serious between them. Now that she thought of it.. They were probably dating for a while.

Joan moved back from him and moved her hands to his cheeks, wiping away the tears she could now see streaming down his cheeks. He was laughing and crying at the same time, and she did the same. They sat there in a sweet silence for a couple moments, soon laying on the bed together, just laying close as they thought about what sort of situation they were in now. Well, sort of, Joan was more focusing on how nice it felt to be in JFK’s arms, and how comfortable his chest was to rest on.

“Guessing you’re staying the night, then?” JFK said with a laugh and Joan laughed alongside him. “Today.. Was a long day, I’d rather not move.” she insisted and he rested his chin on top of her head. “I can say, I am personally perfectly fine with that.” he responded and she moved her head up to press a kiss to his lips. It felt more romantic now, despite the fact she knew they had kissed in the past. Now they were.. Officially together, and it felt nice to be.


End file.
